Lost Youth

I usually don't read the local papers, but yesterday while enjoying breakfast at a local diner, a headline grabbed my attention. The article talked about a wave of crime to hit Jefferson Township this past summer and how three local teens were arrested. The author correctly pointed out that what gets lost in a situation like that is the sense of security that is supposed to present in a rural, pastoral town. The young criminals obviously have no respect for themselves or anyone else. Somewhere along the way, they decided that engaging in antisocial behavior is an appropriate form of expression for their rage.
Having been a guest of the NJDOC, I have two suggestions to make. First of all, no matter how much prison time they receive, there will be no progress toward rehabilitation without some sort of incentive. Young people, no matter how much they may deny it, need structure. If given the opportunity to languish during their prison time, that's exactly what they will do. This is the major flaw of the State prison system. Inmates need incentive to improve themselves. Upgrades in status should come when certain educational goals are achieved. Even if the inmate has only a fifth grade education, then that's where the process should begin. Morality and self respect are great motivators. If a person can be made to feel like they have some self worth, then rehabilitation is possible.
Second, when they are released, these young people should be ordered to perform extensive community service, specifically for the people whose lives and homes they damaged. This would need to be done under close police supervision, but could prove an invaluable service to both victim and perpetrator. If these young people can be made to understand what they have taken, they may be more reluctant to re-engage in their violent, antisocial behavior. It could provide an opportunity for them to gain some compassion and maturity. It's certainly not guaranteed, but it's better than throwing them back into the community and letting the level of resentment and suspicion fester for years to come.

Dollars and Egos

I have been busy all week so I haven't had the time to write entries. But it was actually a good time to take off because this week has seen unprecedented activity in the financial markets. I will give credit to my older brother for this one because he wrote me a letter months ago, while I was still in prison, saying that we were headed for a major crisis and his reasoning was sound as well: Americans have for too long lived well beyond their means and financed their lifestyle on the assumption that their house would be a perpetually appreciating asset. The mortgage companies played right into this assumption by designing mortgages with incredible risk, but risk that could be handled as long as the assumption held true.
Well, guess what. Markets correct and the housing market is no different. So now, we have a recessionary environment coupled with the highest inflation in more than a decade.
But the overheated dreams of Americans don't entirely explain the events of this week. Ego, throughout history, has been a very destructive force. Read Barbara Tuchman's The March of Folly. In our society, ego and greed have been elevated to admirable virtues. The selfish drive for more dollars has driven executive compensation to obscene levels. Americans have got to learn to say enough is enough. To justify these escalating salaries, profits became the main concentration of business, as they always have been, but normal risk parameters were blindly disregarded for the sake of bloated bonuses.
The living incarnation of this perverse principle is Franklin Raines, who fiddled his way to incredible compensation while cooking the books of what is supposed to be a highly regulated agency. It is not a good thing that he has been working as an advisor to the Obama campaign.
What can be done? The two sides of the argument revolve around the need for more stringent regulation, and I am definitely in favor of greater regulation of markets in order to prevent further convolution of prudent investment.
What is not being discussed is the central issue. Can we reform ourselves? Can we evolve into a society where the national welfare is the highest priority, instead of the source of the next dollar? Can we develop a true, honest sense of morality that is more than lip service? As Nicholas Kristof correctly pointed out in his columnn today, Richard Fuld, the outgoing chairman of Lehman Brothers, earned $17,000 an hour last year while he ran a 150-plus year old firm into the ground. How many different non-profit organizations can you think of in ten seconds flat that could have put that money to better use? Even one or two is enough.
You want to invest in the stock market, you want to earn a decent return on your money. You cannot be blamed for that. But you do share, a least a little bit, in the responsibility for the exorbitant pay packages that undeserving CEO's are awarded by boards who fail to exercise the proper oversight and diligence. The normal excuse given for these pay packages is that they are necessary to hire and retain the best talent for shareholders. On the surface, this is admirable. But the reality is that CEO's are earning three to five hundred times what their average line and staff worker earns and that is completely out of line with what percentage of the total profit they are responsible for.
Until Americans can have a real debate on the subject of morality in this country, there will always be more Franklin Raines. Jeffrey Skillings, and Bernie Ebbers. Even if we have the debate and establish a real sense of morality, those kind of people will still exist, but there would be more public condemnation and more severe penalties. No one, be it in the name of capitalism or pure greed, has the right to lead people into financial ruin. This is what these men have done. Jeff Skilling and Bernie Ebbers are in jail. Franklin Raines is an advisor to the Obama campaign. Something doesn't add up there.
Admitting that greed has always existed and always will exist is no excuse for not fighting it. We cannot make a legitimate claim to being an advanced society capable of moral leadership until we tackle the problem of greed and stop glorifying its excesses.
That is the challenge that should be undertaken in the wake of this weeks' financial turmoil.

GoLedy Blog Directory Link

So, So Right

I know what people are going to say. I'm a Thomas Friedman junkie. But the column he wrote on Saturday said things that really needed to be said. The most important issue of this election is being made into window dressing. How awesome would McCain have been if in response to the hubbub over Obama's lipstick on a pig remark, he had spoken boldly about the time Obama was wasting on trivialities and laid out the specifics of a plan to turn America into a green country that will lead the world into a cleaner, more sustainable era and return America to the position of moral leadership it has lost. Instead, he retreats into the culture war arena and endorses a plan which cannot possibly work and will cost America its economic and political leverage.
The title of the column was "Making America Stupid." In describing the McCain campaign Mr. Friedman wrote, "It's a campaign now built on turning everything into a cultural wedge issue- including even energy policy, no matter how stupid it makes the voters and no matter how much it might weaken America." Mr. Friedman does not take the next logical step by saying that John McCain is not making voters stupid, many of them have been stupid all along, and are contented to remain that way. You have no idea how much it pains me to say that, but it's true. The religious right, to which McCain has sold his once maverick soul, represent the worst of anti-intellectualism in this country. Anyone who endorses "creationism" as a "science" to be taught in school willfully chooses to ignore the very facts right in front of them, and nothing they say from that point on can be taken seriously.
Anyone who has read my blog, and so far there aren't many of you, knows that I have a very strong faith in God. I firmly believe in God as "first cause." For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it means, in a nutshell, that God caused the Big Bang to happen, and, as a result, we have evolved in the proper order along the timeline God prescribed. Even St. Thomas Aquinas, back in the late 13th century, when they knew very little about the origins of the universe, referred to God in this way. I do not think that a man with as great a mind as St. Thomas Aquinas had would continue to argue a contrary opinion in the face of overwhelming evidence, as today's Creationists do. They simply don't have any firm intellectual ground to stand on.
The few evangelicals who have come out in favor of a "green energy" policy, and been vilified for it, deserve special mention. As St. Paul said in many of his epistles, those who believe shall be persecuted. Incorporating new ideas into the mainstream subjects you, unfortunately, to that same kind of intellectual persecution.
The final point of Mr. Friedman's column was the most powerful. We cannot possible remain in any pre-eminent economic position by jumping on the "drill, drill, drill" bandwagon. Mr. McCain is pandering to the very elements of our society that would advocate wasting billions to save the dying American auto industry, which continues to give people what it thinks they want instead of educating about what they should be doing. Let's have GM and Ford declare that it will produce nothing but "green vehicles" by the year 2015 and see the turn its fortunes would take. I'm sure it would produce some short term pain, as Mr. Friedman has pointed out is necessary, but in the end both companies would regain market share they have long since conceded. Just as any President who speaks too boldly is destined for one term, any CEO of GM or Ford who made this declaration would be summarily shown the door, but he would be proven correct in years to come.
This country used to think that way, but complacency and apathy have eroded our innovative spirit. When we wake up one day and find our standard of living lost for future generations, then the finger pointing will start. But will any of us have the guts to look ourselves in the mirror and admit we are all to blame? That is a question that needs immediate consideration.

A Book I Will Be Reading

The introduction of Thomas Friedman"s new book, "Hot, Flat and Crowded," immediately changes my reading priorities. Mr. Friedman's last book, "The World is Flat," was a thorough analysis of changing economic conditions, although possibly a bit too optimistic, as recent events have shown.
The new book changes direction slighthly and it is a timely change. Although the review by David Victor in the NYT points out the book's flaws, they seem to be far outweighed by its strengths. Mr. Friedman points out, as I did in a recent post, that Americans were once capable of pulling together as a nation to accomplish great things, but we have long ago lost that sense of cohesiveness. This opens the door for other, more committed, more collectivist, and less debt ridden countries to take the lead, when America should be stepping to the forefront. Mr. Victor frames the argument this way; "...buzz is not the same as revolution" How right he is.
Mr. Victor faults Mr. Friedman for his lack of specifics on improving leadership in America. I can't really say that I hold Mr. Friedman accountable for this deficiency. How else can we improve leadership in America unless we have politicians who aren't on a constant re-election campaign and who are constantly being bombarded by special interests with boatloads of cash who work against the country's long-term interests? I often hear it said that a politician who would propose the kind of solutions we need, which would have to hurt some people in the short term, would be committing political suicide. That causes me to ask, whose fault is that? If a politician was to propose a bold plan for moving forward that would cost billions and would disaffect some people, how should we react? Are we going to laugh, shake our heads and call him or her an idiot? Or are we going to finally realize that burying our heads in the sand and talking about tax cuts is a completely insufficient solution?
Mr. Victor also faults Mr. Friedman for not being thorough enough on the cost of our different energy options. That seems to me to be a Catch-22 situation. I don't think anyone can really offer an accurate estimate of these costs and anyone who does will be assailed with a thousand differing opinions. After all, it is not Mr. Friedman's responsibility to implement the changes we need, simply to make the public aware of them. Maybe if we had a truly visionary leader, he would appoint Mr. Friedman to head a newly formed commission with a blank check to lead an American green revolution. Then we might truly get some revolutionary results.
One thing is clear. The time to act is now. This world is desperate for some exemplary moral leadership. That used to be our natural realm. How quickly we re-assume that position, after years of neglect, will go far in determining the fate of our nation in the 21st century.

Seven Years After Disaster: What Have We Learned?

The events of 9/11/01 are burned in my memory. For purposes of this entry, they are not important. Rather, the events of the ensuing seven years are. I remember in the first ten or so days after, there was talk of a return to civility. It was short-lived. The first time I saw that it had passed, some guy cut me off on Rt. 23 and gave me the finger when I beeped.
Why is civility so difficult? The question is not even considered anymore. The idea belongs to a bygone age when shows like Davey and Goliath, The Brady Bunch and Dennis the Menace were popular. The question, "why can't we all just get along?" has become a joke, along with the phrase "family values."
Let's consider the question first. We can't get along because we have completely lost any sense of collective consciousness. All that matters is what Ihave and the hell with everybody else. I don't advocate the stifling of individual freedoms like the Chinese system, but, although I hate to admit it, there are a few lessons we could learn from them about collective will. All this talk about diversity being strength may be true enough, but it ignores the fact that Americans need to pull together to meet the challenges of the 21st century, or risk losing our standard of living. Alas, it is readily apparent that this has already begun. It is a sad fact that Americans no longer act until they absolutely have to, and then they are ready to accept patchwork, interim solutions instead of paradigm change.
Family values is an easier matter to explain, but no less difficult a problem to solve. Family values are a joke, because the family is a joke. My own life is a perfect example. I haven't seen my children in four and a half years. Should that really have been allowed to happen? If we truly lived in a society that valued the family, then some sort of authority should be in place to tell my ex-wife that the children's relationship with me must be maintained. But, beyond my own example, the demands of 21st century life in America put a huge, unnecessary strain on the foundations of the family, to the point where there isn't enough time to discuss values. Add to that the explosion of drug use, delinquency, teen pregnancy and glorification of recklessness by the media and it's clear that the family falls low on the list of national priorities. This is not true in other countries, and I think one of the reasons why is pure, American ego. We are not mature enough as a nation to listen to criticism without getting indignant. A true sign of character is the ability to accept constructive criticism and integrate it into subsequent behavior. Has this happened in American society? I see no evidence of it whatsoever. Americans continue to behave in a selfish, arrogant way that benefits no one and damages our reputation on the world stage.
Again, I know I hammer on this theme, but this type of behavior is a legacy of the 60's, when questioning values was in vogue, but the question was never really answered. It's fine to ask why, but to complete the process, a fitting substitute set of values needs to be put in place, and they never were. Civility went out the window with the loss of faith in government.
So as we pause to reflect on this national day of mourning, which should be a national holiday by the way, let us not dwell on the past, but let us make the day an opportunity to look toward a brighter, more civil future. That would truly be a lesson learned well.

A Perfect Example of the Need for More Accountability

The takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced this weekend will have wide reaching consequences, most of them good. The expectation is that some confidence will be restored to the mortgage markets and interests rates, which have risen lately, will fall back some. However, that in itself, will not stabilize falling home prices, which no one expected anyway.
But if you are a shareholder of either institution you should be extremely angry. Of course, it is partially your own fault if you hung on in hopes of a turnaround at this point when none was coming. The stock today dropped to under $1 a share, where it is sure to stay. (Caveat: I was a stockbroker for a major retail brokerage firm for seven years prior to my incarceration and recommended Fannie Mae at a price in the neighborhood of $60.) That does not excuse what happened though. The government immediately dismissed the chief executives of both firms, but their ridiculously unearned severance packages may still be awarded to them. Daniel Mudd, outgoing chief of Fannie Mae stands to pocket $9.3 in severance pay. Richard Syron, chief of Freddie Mac has an exit package worth $14.1 million. The artice in the NYT does quote an official of a large union, and probably a large investor, expressing his outrage over this possible outcome.
It should not be allowed to happen. Mr. Mudd has already taken home $12.4 million in compensation. He doesn't deserve most of that. Mr. Syron has already been compensated to the tune of $17.1 million. Same with him. The money set aside for their golden parachutes should be taken and divided up among the employees whose retirements are now ruined as a result of their respective CEO's mismanagement. That would still be paltry compensation compared to what their bosses have made, but at least it would contain a measure of morality and justice, something that has completely disappeared from daily American life.
Let's do a little math. I know it's a bit of stretch to assume that both men still have all the money they were paid, so let's take a figure somewhere in the middle. Let's say they both have $6 million in investable assets, and further assume that they can invest those assets to earn 7%, not an unrealistic assumption in today's interest rate environment. Very simply, $6 million dollars invested at 7% yields an annual return of $420,000. That works out to $35,000 a month. Let me ask you a question. Do you have $35,000 a month to live on? When you stop laughing think about the fact that the severance package would triple that annual income. Do you smell something rotten in that possibility?
Of course, who can forget the top rogue in this entire fiasco, Franklin Raines. This guy made more than $52 million in a 5 year period when he ran Fannie Mae. Of course, he did forfeit some stock options when they nailed him trying to inflate his own pay by cooking the books. That seems fair doesn't it? Okay, I didn't mean to make you laugh again. This is a serious issue.
But the whole mess perfectly points out the need for the American people to speak up and tell their elected officials that this crap can't go on. I'm sure we all know who is going to foot the bill for the takeover of these poorly run, implicitly trusted institutions. And why? Because we sit back and take it. I can't start a one man revolution and I don't advocate the overthrow of the government, but clearly the voices of the people need to heard more often, so I am doing what I can to impel protest. The following two links will bring you to a form where you can e-mail New Jersey's two senators and tell them that you are not happy about what happened and ask them why they weren't more diligent in their oversight:

http://lautenberg.senate.gov/contact/

http://menendez.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm

There is another side to this whole affair, which as a former stockbroker, I have to mention. It was recently disclosed that a portfolio manager named Bill Miller, from the Legg Mason family of funds, a well respected family of funds, upped his stake in Freddie Mac recently when the stock was trading at $5. I can't imagine how that kind of decision fits into any acceptable risk parameters for fundholder money. The logic behind that transaction needs to be examined, and the examination should go beyond what was on Mr. Miller's mind.


**Information for this post was taken from today's NYT online version.

A Little Sunday Philosophy

Sundays always make me philosophical. I know most of the words the priest says in the Mass by heart, so my mind sometimes tends to wander. It always wanders to the same place first. I think about the children and when I have the Eucharist in my mouth (which I never chew), the children's safety and happiness are always the first things I pray for. The second prayer is that my reunion with them will not be too much longer in coming. More on that as time goes on.
After I am done reflecting on my longing for them, indulging in my own sadness, I look around at the faces of the people in the Church. I very often detect sadness in their faces too. I want to walk over to some of them and ask what is wrong. What is the source of their sadness? Sometimes, when indulging my own selfish sadness, I allow myself to think that no one could possibly be as sad as I am. Then, when I see the sadness radiating off the faces around me, one the one hand, I feel worse because I can't help them. On the other hand, I feel a little better, because I get a clear reminder that I am not the only person with sadness in my life. Joy is wonderful, but joy is fleeting. Sadness has more stamina.
However, today it was the readings from Scripture that really set my philosophical muse in motion. I think it's wonderful that Catholics, wherever they gather, get to hear the same Scripture. It's a sort of "super-communal" shared experience. But it still allows for individual interpretation. Listen to these two passages that were read today. The first is from the prophet Ezekiel, Chapter 33, Verses 8&9.
"When I say unto the wicked, O wicked one, thou shalt surely die, if thou does not speak to warn the wicked from his way, the wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he does not turn from his way he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul."
The second passage is from St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 13, Verses 8,9 & 10:
"Owe no man anything, but to love one another, for he that loveth one another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
I'm sure the first passage could be cited by evangelicals as a raison d'etre. But combined with the other passage and the sadness I saw on faces today, I came away with a completely different feeling.
Here is God, granting us free will, but holding all of us accountable. As I have said before, I don't feel it is anyone's right to try to tell someone else how to live other than providing them with guidelines, which is accomplished nicely by the laws of God and man.
What is our responsibility is to try to bring as much joy into this world as possible. Sadness is an extremely powerful force and joy often wilts at the sight of it. If you work to bring joy into this world and it does not inspire others to do the same, than they are the wicked of whom Ezekiel speaks. And no, making a lot of money does not automatically mean that you bring a great amount of joy into the world. The joy that money produces is often fallacious.
If bringing joy into the world is your highest priority, then you are automatically in agreement with both of these passages. The only reason to work to bring joy into the world is love of others, because the sadness that is so evident is such a deteriorating force that must be fought. To create joy is to fight the wickedness that brings sadness. The fruits of your labor can then be held up as an example to the purveyors of evil and sadness, thus preserving the sanctity of those labors and your soul as well.
To interpret the first passage as an evangelical would is to assume a vindictive God; an all powerful force that is constantly on the watch for transgressions, a being that would rather condemn than forgive. I don't see it that way at all. As the priest who gave the sermon in my church today said, Jesus Christ never gives up on someone. Jesus welcomed tax collectors and Gentiles to his table, because instead of automatic condemnation, he gave them the chance for redemption. Jesus showed them what a little faith, honesty and altruism could do. So as long as we work to bring joy into the world, despite our past transgressions, we always have a shot at final redemption. This is my preferred perception of the Almighty, and I can rest well at night knowing that bringing joy into the world, through increased knowledge and open discussion, is my own raison d'etre. When I can bring that kind of joy to my children once again, I will know that God has seen fit to smile on my efforts.

Link to Previous Blog

In response to a comment from Adonis, I am making this link available to the previous space where I had my blog. It was on Windows Live Spaces and I was getting no traffic there. In response to her specific request, there is a post there entitled THE NJDOC: WORTH THE MONEY? If she or anyone else wishes to read this previous post she can go to:

www.ageofaccountability.spaces.msn.com

In closing for the night, as an aside I would also like to say that Verizon Wireless Internet Access is a terrible service in the area in which I live. I get bunked off at the most inconvenient times and it's as slow as molasses going uphill in December. Thank you.

John McCain: Not Such A Maverick Anymore

By declaring Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate, John McCain has completely shed his maverick status. First, the selection of Sarah Palin shows that he is selling his soul to the Christian right in order to win. Second, I don't believe a single word of the rhetoric he has been putting out lately about dismantling the influence of special interests in Washington under his administration. Third, his plan to drill America out of dependence on foreign oil is hopelessly outdated, and his eight conspicuous absences for votes on extending the tax credits for solar and wind power show that he is not tuned in to the economic need of this country on either a micro or macro level. These are the industries of the future, the 21st century growth engines that the microprocessor and software were for the last generation. The standard of living is declining right before John McCain's eyes and he apparently thinks that cheap oil will preserve it. He fails to recognize the damage being done by continued use of fossil fuels and their inevitable exhaustibility. By the time the new drilling begins to have an impact on the average price of a gallon of gas, John McCain's presidency would be over. It's impossible to think of Mr. McCain running for a second term at the age of 76. I think we should send John McCain out of town on a rail and let him quietly fade into political oblivion. The baby boom generation has not shown itself to be great leaders, but I'm praying that we will not wait until a late stage crisis to take decisive action.

My Worst Suspicions Confirmed

Sometimes it sucks to be right. When John McCain announced his VP choice last week, I did what everyone else with an active mind did and went to my favorite news sources looking for info on Sarah Palin. The first stories I read seemed positive. She cleaned house, she was a small town success story and a woman who gave birth to a child with a birth defect. That takes guts. But later in the day, the bad news started rolling in. My initial thought on why McCain chose her- to draw in disgruntled Hillary voters- was discredited. It became clear that McCain chose her to pander to the Christian right. This sickening feeling was confirmed when I read that head nutjob Ralph Reed was thrilled by McCain's choice. This is a group of nuts who do not represent the mainstream of American thought in any way whatsoever. These people feel they have a right to impose their will and their twisted views on all people. Thankfully, although Mr. McCain doesn't seem willing to recognize this yet, their influence in American politics is fading. Barack Obama's certain victory in November will be the final nail in the Christian right's coffin.

The reason the Christian right is so thrilled with the choice of Sarah Palin is that she is pro-life. It reinforces the idea that John McCain, if elected, would appoint Supreme Court Justices that would overturn Roe vs. Wade. Again, this is a position held by only one out of three Americans. The rest of us believe that a woman should be able to choose to end a pregnancy that is unwanted, that would cause the mother harm, that came about as the result of a rape, or that would send the mother and the rest of her family into economic distress. I also believe that it should be done in the first trimester, but I don't possess the medical knowledge to make a definitive recommendation on this point. There are enough unwanted children in the world already. Taking away a woman's right to choose is not only undemocratic, it is unchristian.

I am a Christian. I believe in God strongly. But I also believe that everyone has the right to choose what they will believe and how they will live their lives, as long as that choice does not interfere with the conduct of society's daily affairs. The purpose of life is to accumulate as much knowledge as possible and then pass it on to the next generation. Stifling scientific progress in the name of morality is not helping mankind's present condition. I don't want a whole bunch of clones running around, but to withhold goverment money for stem cell research that might help to alleviate painful and long running disease is crazy, and I don't believe a benevolent God would want us to do so anyway.

I wish John McCain had gone ahead and chosen Joe Lieberman for his VP. That would have made this a real race. I know things seem to be close now, but in the end Barack Obama and Joe Biden will triumph and a new era of national pride and vision for the future will begin.